Deduplication for macOS - replace duplicate files with clones to free up your disk space on APFS
diskDedupe finds duplicate files on your Mac and replaces them with APFS clones — freeing up disk space without deleting a single file.
Save space without losing anything.
When two files are identical, APFS can store them as a single copy on disk while both paths remain fully accessible. diskDedupe automates this process across your entire library, recovering space that traditional cleanup tools miss.
KEY FEATURES
• Free Scanning: Scanning for duplicates is 100% free, only pay if deduplication makes sense for you
• 30-day pass with special promotional pricing, available until further notice
• Lifetime Option: Want permanent access? An eternal license is also available for purchase
• Reclaim disk space without removing any files
• Works with photos, videos, Logic Pro projects, archives, documents, and more
• Detects existing APFS clones to avoid redundant processing
• Automatically protects system files and iCloud content
• Preserves timestamps, tags, Finder comments, hard links, and symbolic links
• Filter by category (images, documents, media, and more) or file name
• Select files individually
• Export duplicate lists as CSV for further analysis
• Smart caching for fast, efficient scanning
REQUIREMENTS
APFS volume (standard on all Macs since macOS 10.13). Scanning is always free.
This app hasn’t received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.
Great for deduplication on APFS
Whovian Omega
This utility is extremely fast and flexible. Unlike other duplicate file finders, this one has a few unique features including: ability to scan only files above or below a minimum size, and a simplified deduplication process that doesn't require you to pick a canonical original.Under the hood, the speed comes from the APFS file cloning capability, which is sort of like really efficient hardlinks on HFS but allows copies to diverge efficiently without clobbering one copy or the other if a cloned copy is modified or deleted. This takes the guesswork out of deduplication, and for its use case beats the pants off of any other duplicate file utility I know of.The only real limitation of this utility is that it ONLY works on APFS file systems. You can't use it on HFS disks. However, it *does* work reliably on mounted APFS disk *images* (including sparsebundles) even if they're located on HFS or other filesystems, so it's a great way to get the benefits of APFS cloning and deduplication even if you have spinning disks or RAID systems that don't do APFS well.One sparsebundle was reduced from 9 TB to only 1.4 TB after deduplication with this utility followed by hdiutil compaction. Your data patterns may vary, but this was pretty compelling for me.In short, I highly recommend it.
UPDATE: This WORKS well, Responsive developer, addressed issues promptly
unixwzrd
I recently wrote a review of this cautioning people to not run this unless they knew recovery techniques, the developer contacted me and I explained the issues I encountered and they were prompt in responding and taking care of these issues.A responsive developer and addressed concerns and issue quickly is great. I have not had much time to verify all the fixed, but everything seems to work correctly. Integrity and responsiveness in developers is rare so I highly recommend this product and the developer as well!
Developer Response
FIXED WITH Version 1.601Thank you for your detailed feedback. Since in all our tests the deduplication of executables worked without any issues, we would appreciate understanding more about the specific problem you encountered. We would be happy to provide you with a test version that includes the changes you suggested, as they certainly make sense from a safety perspective. It would be greatly appreciated if you could send us an email to feedback@diskdedupe.com, allowing all users to benefit from your suggestions.
Great app!
Ethan Fenlon
This app works perfectly! I would only advise against using it on files in iCloud Drive, because iCloud Drive storage acts differently than any other "normal" APFS drive. When I used it on iCloud Drive, iCloud preserved all of the original files I "deduplicated", as well as all of the copy-on-write duplicates that this app created, so I essentially ended up with two copies of each of the files (the original plus the new copy-on-write file). Other than that, the app works great on any APFS drive I've tested it on!
Excellent and efficient
davebailey
It does what it says it does. It finds duplicate files and combines them so you don't use storage you don't need to. It uses something called "hard links" which have multiple file pointers pointing to the same data.Backup before you do it, but I haven't had any problems using it and because many of my files and photos were duplicates, it's saved a lot of space.I wish it were a little faster, but I have a lot of files! Maybe it could use the APFS FileVault file hashes instead of calculating them on its own.
• Improved scanning engine for faster duplicate detection and reduced memory usage.
• New learning timer to predict scan completion times.
• Refreshed user interface with an animated dashboard showing live progress and throughput.
• Bug fix: Workspace switching with sub folders fixed
• Minor bug fixes
Version 2.21
The developer, Frank Schroeter, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
